MISCONCEPTION

By Leap Taylor

CHAPTER ONE

“A mistake at the clinic?  What exactly are you talking about?” Mina spoke into her cell phone, gripping it with enough force to almost break it in half.

“Ms. Roberts, we should really have this discussion face-to-face. I can meet you wherever you happen to be now, or you can come to our offices at anytime today.  Even if it’s after hours, we’ll be here waiting for you.” Dr. Clare Beaumont had been the Clinical Director of the prestigious Harvest Fertility Clinic for the last decade and had never before had to make a call like this in her entire professional career. Despite her years of experience, her thin voice sounded shaky and full of uncertainty.  “Ms. Roberts?...are you still there?  Please know that I’ll explain everything in detail as soon as we can meet.”

Mina Roberts listened to the nervous ramblings of the fertility doctor on the other end of the line, but could barely make out the words being said because of the deafening rush of blood flowing to her head. “Sperm mix-up at the fertility clinic” were the only words that resonated with her.  The only words that mattered.

Finding her voice, she responded. “Dr. Beaumont, I’m on my way. I’ll be there in 20 minutes.” Mina set the phone down on the table, not even bothering to disconnect the call.

 “Honey, what’s wrong? What happened?” Layla, Mina’s best friend, reached across the table at the restaurant where they had just finished having lunch, and rested her hand on top of Mina’s clenched fist. She had only been able to hear one side of the brief conversation, but knew from her friend’s glassy stare and pale pallor that something was immediately wrong.  “Mina?...look at me. What happened?”

Layla and Mina had been friends since college.  Together, they had thrown rocks at car windows of cheating boyfriends, pulled hair back during late night commode visits after too much drinking and partying, championed one another’s causes, celebrated each other’s successes and spoke their own language.  After so many years, they had completely imprinted on one another. So it was without surprise that all Mina had to do was look up, meet Layla’s gaze and sharply inhale a frazzled breath before Layla took charge and stepped into action.

Reaching into her purse to pull out a few hundred dollar bills for the lunch tab with one hand, while simultaneously speed dialing her driver, Monroe, with the other, she instructed him to meet them out front of the restaurant pronto, and tossed the money near her plate.  She then stood up from the table, grabbed the last remaining sweet roll left in the bread basket, and took Mina’s hand to lead her out of the restaurant. 

“Let’s get you out of here.  Where are we going?”  Both Layla and Mina were taller than average, so they long stepped and met each other’s lengthy strides as they walked out the door together, onto the busy sidewalk and into the waiting black Suburban that had just pulled up to the curb.

Once seated inside the cool darkness of the tinted-windowed SUV, Mina was finally able to slowly release the breath that she was holding, but her voice was barely above a whisper.  “The clinic Lay. We need to get to the fertility clinic.” 

After Layla barked the address at her driver, she turned towards Mina with sincere concern and fear in her eyes.  “What happened love? Tell me what’s going on.”

Mina instinctively placed her trembling hand over her abdomen, protectively covering her growing, 5-week old fetus.  “The clinic fears that they’ve injected me…. with the wrong sperm.”

Seven miles away in the diplomatic suite of the U.S. Italian Embassy, Luca Saldano-Vera found himself, once again, looking through the various 8x10 glossy photos strewn across the marble tabletop. They were candid shots taken of the woman who, for all intents and purposes, was the sole reason for his current presence in the United States.  His investigative team had clearly done a fantastic job of identifying her and maintaining her whereabouts, but there weren’t nearly as many pictures of her as he would have expected.  One by one, he went through them for approximately the twentieth time since receiving them 72 hours ago. 

One pic of her exiting her home in sweatpants and a t-shirt to check her mailbox.  Another one of her wheeling her trash can to the main road for pick-up…this time wearing…what was that, an adult onesie??  And then several of her walking the streets of downtown Washington, DC alongside a remarkably gorgeous woman who looked vaguely familiar.  Why did her friend look so familiar to him?

One by one, Luca slowly perused the photos and indulged in what he considered his secret guilty pleasure.  Even in sweatpants and a damned onesie, this woman was absolutely stunning.  The fall of her jet black hair, like a thick, silk curtain hanging over her voluptuous breasts in that tight t-shirt..”

“Luca, everything is in place, exactly as you wished.” Clove, his cousin and best friend interrupted his thoughts…his very inappropriate thoughts, by walking into the office and assailing him with a barrage of Italian instructions. “We’re just waiting on a confirmed meeting location, but should have one within the hour.” 

Seeing that he had caught Luca once again pouring over the photos, Clove decided to walk over to the desk and picked one up to inspect.

“Ms. Mina Roberts, eh? Wasn’t quite expecting her to look like this, huh?”  Clove glanced at Luca from the corner of his eye.  Knowing his cousin’s taste for unique and exotic beauties all too well, not to mention his unexpected and incessant interest in these photos, he ventured a sudden question.  “Are you considering the idea of changing your strategy in any way?” 

“Absolutely not!” was Luca’s louder than necessary response, voicing it even before Clove could finish his entire sentence.  “Of course she’s gorgeous Clove!.. As a criminal mastermind playing a role in this heist, she would certainly HAVE to be! They wouldn’t choose a woman who was of average beauty for something like this, now would they?”

“Luca, what are you talking about?” With a puzzled eyebrow raise and a look of confusion etched on his face, Clove continued. “The FBI, the local authorities and even your own undercover team have all cleared this woman from the possibility of involvement in this criminal investigation.  All signs point to her being a completely unwitting party to this debacle. Albeit a rather integral one… but an unwitting one nonetheless.  Why do you continue to think that she’s involved?”

“Because it doesn’t make any fucking sense Clove!  Why on earth, after months and months of this investigation… interviews, arrests, finding the package, losing the package, tracking it across continents and countries, finally landing here in the U.S...would it then just “innocently” show up at a fertility clinic!...and be inseminated into a complete fucking stranger…. who looks like HER!! No Clove!!  The Bratva are probably to blame for this.  They’ve GOT to be! This is all entirely too genius to be coincidental. And I’m convinced that she is somehow involved.”

“What is it they say?…” Clove calmly mused while tapping his chin.  “The truth is sometimes stranger than fiction, yes.”

“No Clove, she’s somehow involved in this.  I can feel it.  And once I see her in person, and can look into her eyes, I’ll be able to determine for sure.”

Luca picked up one of the photos closest to him.  It was the one of her pushing the rolling trash can to the curb.  With her hair piled high into a messy bun atop her head while wearing a loose-fitting, light blue onesie that zipped-up the front, this woman looked the epitome of sweet and innocent.  But Luca had been in this world far too long and had played these games entirely too well to ever fall for something as elementary and banal as perception. 

Tossing the photo back onto the desk with enough force to slide across the smooth surface and push all of the other glossies onto the floor, Luca grabbed his phone and turned toward the door.

“Text me as soon as a location has been confirmed.”

“Of course.” Clove said, as he bent down to pick up the scattered photos as the door slammed with enough force to shake the wall.  “Of course I will.”

“You left too much money on the table.” Mina mindlessly made the comment to Layla while they waited, seated side-by-side and hand-in-hand in Dr. Beaumont’s office.  The doctor had the audacity to make them wait, what?..3 minutes now.  After a quick check of her watch, Mina confirmed it to be almost 4 minutes now. Just waiting.

After anxiously looking around the elegant office, eyeing the diplomas on the wall and the fresh flowers on the table, Mina finally settled her gaze on Layla’s flawless face, and noticed her friend’s questioning stare.  “What are you talking about?” Layla inquired. “What money?”

“The lunch bill.  You left entirely too much money on the table. That bill would have been no more than $50 bucks, and you left like $300 on that table.  What the hell, Lay? That’s wasteful. Besides, you can’t just throw money around like that. People watch you all the time, so you’ve got to be more careful.”

Layla took a few silent beats before she responded. She knew that her friend was clearly beside herself with worry, and if she had any doubt as to the magnitude of that worry, it was made crystal clear in that last comment.  Too much money?  This coming from the woman who regularly left 60% tips at restaurants, wrote annual six-figure checks to a series of charitable causes and paid her housekeeper a living wage that was commensurate with that of a corporate executive.  Hell, it could be concluded that Layla LEARNED how to be a big spender from observing the likes of Mina Roberts!  Not to mention the fact that Layla was indeed “Layla ‘The Face’ James”, highly celebrated A-List actress and current billion-dollar box office sweetheart extraordinaire. She could afford to throw around as much money as she damn well pleased and Mina knew this well.  So yes, this ridiculous conversation was nothing more than the anxious ramblings of a woman on the brink.  So falling right in line, Layla played along and gave her friend what she needed.

“You’re absolutely right….I did. But all I could think about was getting you out of there.  And at least the waiter was a sweetie, right?  He deserved a little bonus.” Layla gave a light smile and squeezed a bit tighter to Mina’s hand as their fingers remained intertwined, resting together on the shared armrest of their conjoined chairs.  Chairs that were clearly made for loving couples going through the fertility process together, not for single women who brought their best friend along for the ride. 

Before Mina could respond, Dr. Beaumont and three ominous looking gentlemen stepped into the room, profusely apologizing for their belatedness. While the gentlemen, clearly lawyers, fixed themselves at a nearby table, the fertility doctor made a fuss over ensuring the ladies comfort.

“Can I get you ladies anything to drink? Water, tea or maybe fruit juice?”

“Are you kidding me right now?!” Mina was done subduing her anger. “No, you can’t get me anything to drink! Just tell me what the hell is going on Beaumont! And use as few words as possible because my patience has been ripped to shreds!”

Caught off guard by her furious outburst, Dr. Beaumont looked wide-eyed and fearful, but took a breath and got to the point as quickly and succinctly as she could.

“Ms. Roberts, after an in-depth investigation of your insemination procedure, we’ve recently discovered that an incorrect sperm specimen was used for your IUI.  The sperm donation used was not from the donor that you selected, but was instead from a mislabeled sampling that was being cryopreserved in our facility.  Mistakenly cryopreserved actually.”  Checking to ensure that Mina didn’t look faint or short of breath, Dr. Beaumont continued.

“I use the term “mistakenly” to suggest that the sperm specimen should never have been here in the first place Ms. Roberts.  The mystery of its presence at this clinic is something that is still being investigated as we speak.  But what is clear is that it was mislabeled as the specimen belonging to Registered Donor ID 5143 – the Donor ID that you chose.  Of course the specimen was tested and cleaned as it normally would have been, so there’s no concern for the health and wellbeing of the fetus. But the specimen used ….was not from a Registered Donor.  The rightful donor, in fact, was not in our database and never officially signed any release of the specimen, nor provided any authorization for its use in treatment.  He had no idea that it was in our possession.”

Dr. Beaumont looked down at her folded hands in her lap as she cleared her throat and continued. “Therefore he is… aggressively threatening legal action… to possibly include the parental rights to your unborn fetus.” 

Dr. Beaumont knew that her career was possibly over and felt as faint as Mina currently looked.  Nonetheless, she risked a side glance to her legal counsel seated to her right, and was met with an icy stare from his soulless eyes due to her unwillingness to cooperate with his suggested scheme to distract, deflect blame and cover-up the very clear wrong doings of the clinic.  Violations and wrong doings of which the two FBI agents seated to his right had thorough and well-documented proof.  Yes, her career was very much over.

Mina could barely see straight and almost had no voice to speak.  But in her state of numbing shock, she mustered the strength to ask the only question that mattered. “Who is the sperm donor? If it’s not the donor I selected, then who the hell is it?”

Almost an hour and a half later, Mina and Layla sat in heavy silence as they processed the whirlwind conversation that just took place inside the clinic.  Having just reentered the waiting Suburban, neither gave the driver instructions as to where to go, nor did either know what to do next.  So they both sat there in a trance-like state until Layla finally took a deep breath and broke the silence first.

“Mina… with all the number one best-selling books that you’ve authored, I don’t even think that you could’ve come up with a story as…as outlandish and unbelievable as this one.  Like.. is this shit really happening? You actually got inseminated with stolen sperm?!  Sperm that belongs to a gottdamn Italian dignitary?!  Sperm that somehow involves the fuckin FBI!!  Sperm that traveled across three countries just to end up in YOU?!  Sperm that…”

“Enough Lay!! Enough!” Mina closed her eyes and grabbed the sides of her head as she tried to make sense of the chaotic mess of words spinning around in her head.  They had just been bombarded by information from federal agents, lawyers and clinical staff for more than an hour, and Mina felt the overwhelming need to vomit…again. But she had already expelled her lunch in Dr. Beaumont’s trashcan…twice. So she knew that she had nothing left to give, but felt the unmistakable instinct to dry heave anyway.

Mina bent over and rested her face between her knees, while Layla quickly moved to gently rub her back.

“I’m sorry, I’m sorry.  Okay, just breathe. You know I start babbling whenever I get overwhelmed. But I’m right here honey and we’re gonna get through this, I promise.  Come on, look at me.  We’re getting through this!”

It was only then that the tears came.  Mina was made from stoic stuff, raised by a mother who taught her the grace and strength that came from disciplined emotions.  So despite the catastrophic news that she had just received… the fear that gripped her… the anger that boiled inside of her… she had yet to shed a tear. But sitting there in such a defeated position with her carefully planned life unraveling right before her very eyes, she could no longer keep the tears at bay.  With her head still between her knees, the tears began falling silently at first, but then quickly overwhelmed her as the pent-up emotions all came to the surface, racking her body with yells, screams and more cuss words than imaginable. Through it all, Layla continued to rub her back, push her hair away from her face, hug her up, and allowed her to have her breakdown - even at the expense of having her silk Hermes dress ruined by her friend’s errant snot and tears. 

Once the tantrum subsided and Mina somewhat regained her composure, an unavoidable thought occurred to them both simultaneously.  In response, Layla softly looked Mina in the eyes and said “Do you want me to come with you?”

Mina immediately understood what Layla was asking and gently shook her head no as she slowly reclined along the back of the supple leather seat.  “No, I know that you’re flying back to the west coast in a few hours, so I’ll be fine.”

“Bullshit Mina!  Forget that flight! It’s a chartered plane anyway, so who cares if it needs to be changed.  YOU are my priority right now, and that flight can wait.  But you having to meet this dude…this Italian diplomat..”

“Dignitary.”

“Dignitary! Diplofuck! Who cares Mina! You know what the hell I’m trying to say. If you go through with meeting him this evening, I want to be right there with you.  I don’t want you to have to do this by yourself.” Layla then theatrically batted her eyelashes and flashed a sexy pout of her full red lips.  “Besides, maybe he’s a fan of my work and will willingly sign over all parental rights if I agree to go out with him or something.”

The corners of Mina’s mouth couldn’t help but twitch into a smile.  “Yeah, like those idiots in the clinic. WHAT made that agent think it was okay to ask you for your autograph once we wrapped things up in there? That was the most bizarre shit I’ve ever seen.  Aren’t they trained to specifically NOT do stupid stuff like that? It was embarrassing watching him lose his composure after behaving so stern the entire time.”

“They’re all fanboys Mina! Every single one of them.  That’s why I haven’t had a decent date in God-knows-when. I can’t take any of these guys seriously.  But enough about that.. I’m serious about not letting you go by yourself.  What time are you scheduled to meet him again?  I can have the flight pushed back and…”

“Lay, no. No honey, I don’t’ want you to do that.” Mina turned toward her friend and emitted more love in her direction than she’d probably ever shown toward another human being outside of her own mother.  Reaching up and cradling her beautifully famous face, she whispered “Babe, you are one of my greatest gifts and I love you to pieces.  But I’ve got to do this on my own.  Besides, you are one of the few people that I can let my guard down with, and if you’re there when I faceoff with this guy, I might not be as strong as I need to be in order to deal with him. You get what I’m saying?”

“Aww… are you saying that I make you soft, sweetpea?” Layla made a kissy face at her best friend and immediately lightened the mood.

“Shut up Lay!” Mina used the gentle hand that had initially cradled Layla’s face to instead palm her in the center of her forehead to push her away while they both erupted into laughter.  “You’re ridiculous.”

“Oh but you’re smiling, so it worked.  And I get it Mina. There’s no doubt in my mind that you can handle this. You’re the strongest person I know, hands down - and going commando is your default setting.  But sometimes I have to remind you that you don’t always have to handle things by yourself.  Actually, I find myself constantly having to remind you of that! You and I both grew up as lone wolves, and when we met one another for the first time in college, it was like looking into the mirror! We had finally found our other half.” Layla smiled fondly at the memory before continuing. 

“So you KNOW that I understand what you’re thinking. And I know you well enough to aptly predict exactly what you plan to do.  You’re going to go home, get quiet and mentally prepare yourself for battle.  You’re going to listen to that Calm app on your phone and meditate for about 20 minutes, and then you’re going to spend the next hour thinking of all the ways that you can mentally and emotionally decimate this guy within the first 10 minutes of meeting him.  He’s apparently a very influential man, so instead of allowing yourself to be intimidated, you’re going to go on the offense and strike first – fast and hard. How am I doing so far?”

Mina looked at Layla in complete astonishment, for she had eerily conveyed an almost exact account of what Mina would probably do.  Almost to the letter. “You don’t know me little girl!”

“Ha! Wanna bet! I know you almost better than you know yourself chica!”  Layla winked and smiled famously as she finally lowered the partition that separated them from her driver. “Monroe, let’s head to Mina’s house in Davidson. Thanks.”

Finally in motion, Mina began to feel slightly nauseous again. “My house? But I drove to the restaurant to meet you for lunch. What about my car?”

“I’ll stay with you until it’s time to come back into the city for your meeting with the Diplofuck, and I’ll drop you back off at your car then. Besides, you’re in no condition to drive right now.” Deciding not to argue any further, Mina begrudgingly relented and settled back into the luxuriously warm seat. As her eyelids got heavy and her body quickly became weightless, she was thankful for her friend’s intervention. Right before she gave way to a nap, she heard Layla fiddling with her phone while muttering.

“I know how stubborn your ass can be, so if you’re certain you want to do this on your own, then fine… I’ll head back to LA tonight. But not before we get all the ammunition we’ll need to destroy this guy.”  Then speaking into the phone.. “Hey Lizzie! Yeah you got a minute? We need you.”

CHAPTER TWO

Luca looked at his watch for the third time and couldn’t help the slight tick of infuriation that pulsed at the base of his jawline. This woman had the audacity to be 20 minutes late for their meeting.  True, he was 10 minutes late himself and had only arrived a few moments ago, but that was because he didn’t like being kept waiting.  His time was ridiculously precious and the sooner that he could get this fiasco resolved and behind him, the faster he could return to Rome.

Looking around at the elegantly designed dining room of the restaurant that she chose as their meeting place, Luca smirked at what Americans would allow to pass as “fine dining”.  White linen tablecloths and heavy cutlery were apparently all that was required. Thankfully he had made last minute arrangements to buy out the restaurant for the evening, so the place was primarily vacant, save for his key staff, security team and three assistants, who were all spread out and seated sporadically around the dining room. Seated in the very back center of the restaurant, with a front-facing view of the entire room, Luca snapped his fingers in the air, calling for Clove, who immediately appeared by his side.

“Clove, she has exactly 2 minutes to walk through that door before I leave. Are you sure that you got the time correct?”

“Of course Luca. Everything was confirmed for 7pm, and this is definitely the right place. There is only one Lord Blakes restaurant in Washington, DC and our records indicate that this is one of her favorite places to dine. So…apparently she’s just late.”

“Your records?… What do you mean ‘your records indicate’?  How the hell do you know what her favorite restaurant is, Clove? Did the team provide you with her shoe size and favorite color as well?” 

“Luca, we have one of the best investigative teams in the country, so why would it surprise you that the answer is yes… on all counts.  Everything was in the dossier that I provided to you. Did you not read it?” And with a sly grin, Clove continued.  “I’m guessing that you didn’t make it past the photos to venture into the other parts of the file, hmm? Well to answer your very specific questions… size 38.5 and blue.”

Finding no amusement in Clove’s humor, nor an ability to tolerate this woman’s disrespectful tardiness any further, Luca banged his massive fist so hard on the table that the wood beneath threatened to splinter apart.  The abrupt sound of the impact made Clove take a step back and commanded an immediate silence that fell heavy on the room. Quickly and unmistakably, Clove understood that his powerful cousin – indeed his boss – was no longer in the mood to play congenial games. He rarely saw Luca angry. Menacingly intimidating, yes. Frighteningly composed, yes. But rarely angry. And the fact that this anger had now displayed itself twice in one day suddenly made Clove hypersensitive to the air around him. He became wildly aware that he was witnessing almost uncharacteristic behavior from one of the most powerful men in the country. Absolutely no good could come from this, and for the first time in a long time, Clove feared what might happen next.

Luca pinned Clove with his steely, slate-blue gaze, and recognized that his jaw was clenched so tight that his ears ached.  But before he could utter a word, he slowly took inventory of his monstrous posture.. his erratic breathing.. his rapid heartbeat.  And he almost simultaneously came to the exact same conclusion as Clove.  He was on the verge of irrational behavior, and absolutely no one that sat in his privileged position had the freewill to behave irrationally. Not in the history of ever.  He was raised – trained really - to consistently maintain his composure, regardless of the circumstances.  And the fact that this woman, sight unseen, had the ability to disorient him to such a degree that he acted so completely out of character, forced him to go quiet and still.

No, he could not afford to be off his game when this inevitable meeting took place, so he calmly leaned back in his chair and forced himself into stealth mode. That was where he allowed himself to remove emotions from the equation and zoned in on his natural instincts to seize whatever objective was set before him. That was the mode where million dollar deals were made, billion dollar mergers were deliberated… and generational battles of family warfare were resolved. That was the mode wherein he resided the majority of the time.  And the realization that dealing with this unfathomable circumstance - and this ridiculous woman - had actually pushed him so far away from that natural baseline, did nothing more than further his resolve to stay focused and on task.

Slowly unfolding his linen napkin and placing it gently on his lap, Luca spoke evenly. “Clove, have the wait staff bring out menus so that everyone can order dinner.  And have them bring me a Porterhouse, prepared medium, with their finest glass of Sangiovese. I’m suddenly famished. When you’re done, have a seat and relay to me every viable detail that was in that dossier.” 

And so it was.  Within a few short minutes, Luca was verbally brought up to speed on the inner and outer workings of one Ms. Mina Amihan Roberts. Successful novelist and screenplay writer. Washington, DC native. Thirty-six years old, born on December 20th.  Only child to a mother of Filipino and African American descent, and a father of Italian and English descent. Father deceased, mom lives in Florida. Five feet-ten inches tall, attended Georgetown University but never graduated, yet somehow still managed to amass a net worth in the high seven figures. Oh, and she’s best friends with that famous Hollywood actress, Layla James.

Feeling more settled with each passing minute, Luca quickly felt himself returning to his more disciplined state of mind. And with the first bite of his promptly served steak, he had successfully regained a stealth mode mentality.

By his second bite, she walked in the front door of the restaurant.  And he almost crashed and burned on site.

Mina was almost 40 minutes late and had half expected the restaurant hostess to tell her that her dining companion had already left for the evening, not willing to wait for her unexcused tardiness.  She half wished it to be so. But when she stepped inside the restaurant, there was an unmistakable crackle of electricity in the air. She could feel it creeping up the back of her spine and had to clench her slender fingers into tight fists at her side to keep the feeling from overwhelming her.  Without reasonable explanation, she knew that he was there.  She could feel it.  And the realization unnerved her in ways unimaginable.  But that was ridiculous, right? No, it was just her nerves. It had to be her nerves.

Due to a non-disclosure agreement that bound the clinic from providing her with any detailed information about the man himself, to include his name, she struggled with feeling at a loss and somewhat ill prepared for this first encounter.  But knowing that federal HIPAA laws of patient privacy also restricted his ability to know who she was made her feel a bit more at ease, like she was on a level playing field. Nevertheless, she had psyched herself up and was ready.

With her long, jet black tresses slicked back into a severe bun coiled at the nape of her slender neck, her curve-clinging cashmere dress with the matching coat and her five-inch designer heels (heels that were sharp enough to slice his throat if need be), she felt like she was indeed ready to go to war with this mystery man.  The only objective at hand was to get him to sign the forms that she had in her purse, releasing him from all parental rights to this baby that she carried. There was no other focus aside from that. 

Thankfully, Layla’s brain had worked faster than her own, and on the 30-minute ride to her house in Davidson, her friend had already called their mutual lawyer, Elizabeth Vanoy (another badass girlfriend from college who owned one of the most reputable law firms in the city).  By the time they reached the house, the iron-clad documents had been emailed to both of their accounts. This baby was hers, and if he wanted a fight on his hands, she had the money and resources to go toe-to-toe with him and whatever he could dish out.

Feeling composed and capable, she stepped inside the restaurant, went confidently to the hostess desk and was met by a warm and familiar face.

“Good evening Ms. Roberts! How wonderful it is to see you again.”  Mina had dined there so frequently that she was familiar and friendly with almost everyone employed there.  That was one of the things she loved most about the place.  Even though it was one of the most popular restaurants in the city, their employees were never pompous or pretentious and always went out of their way to make you feel welcome.  Whether she came in the door wearing ripped jeans and Chuck Taylor sneakers, or a Gucci dress and Louboutins (as was the present case), she was never treated any differently and always received such a warm and friendly welcome. Warm friendliness that she always bestowed right back upon them.

“Hi Shannon!” she said while smiling ear-to ear.  They both side-stepped the podium and enveloped one another in a quick but sincere hug of greeting. “It’s so great seeing you too! It’s been far too long. How’ve you been?”

As Shannon responded and stepped back to the podium, Mina looked past her into the main dining area and could not believe how deserted the restaurant appeared. It was a Friday evening and arguably one of their busiest nights.  Friday night reservations where oftentimes completely booked up months in advance, so the fertility clinic had apparently pulled some serious strings to arrange the meeting there this evening.  But the dining room was almost empty. What in the world had happened?

“Shannon!..what’s happening in there?” Mina waved her hand in the general vicinity of the main dining area with a look of concern etched all over her face.  “Where are all the people?”

Shannon smiled demurely in response.  “We’ve actually been bought out for the evening. But your..”

“Oh no! No, no! I was supposed to meet someone here at 7pm, but had no idea that you were closed for a private event.” Mina pulled her cell phone from her coat pocket and immediately began searching for any missed calls or messages, but saw nothing.  This man was probably beyond furious with her for making such an inconveniencing mistake and she had no way to reach him to correct the issue. Yes, she had indeed played a mental mind game by showing up late and making him wait. That was simple Warfare 101 in an effort to exert control over the enemy.  But this error was more malicious than intended and she began frantically searching for Dr. Beaumont’s number to resolve the matter.

“Ms. Roberts, no… please allow me to explain. Your 7pm dinner guest is here.  He’s seated in the back of the dining room and is waiting for you.  Just follow me and I’ll take you to him.”

Without moving from her spot, Mina tentatively reached out and grabbed Shannon’s arm at the elbow, halting her from taking any further steps. “What..um, exactly do you mean? Are you telling me that you seated him despite the private event… or..”

“No Ms. Roberts. Your dinner guest was actually the one who bought us out for the evening.” Leaning in closer to Mina, Shannon continued to divulge.  “And if I might be so bold as to ask, who in the world is this man? He paid an obscene amount of money, not only to rent the place out, but also for restitution given that this was all done only a few hours ago.  He agreed to pay a hefty fee for all of the backlash that we’ll have to contend with for cancelling so many reservations at the last minute. That fee alone was larger than the entire restaurant buy out.” 

And as if Mina could withstand any more blows to her carefully constructed armor, Shannon casually threw the last grenade over her shoulder while walking toward the waiting mystery at the back of the restaurant.  “Not to mention the fact that the man is absolutely the most beautiful masterpiece that I’ve ever laid eyes on.  He has everyone in the kitchen swooning over him, including Gerald, the owner!  Where on earth did you find him?”

And just like that, Mina’s fearless resolve was reduced to nothing. Her inflated ego had popped, loud and frighteningly, like a child’s balloon - and much like a child, all she wanted to do in that moment was turn tail and run away as quickly as possible.  But almost immediately, all thoughts went to the baby that was growing inside of her.  Though it was only the size of an apple seed, it was HER baby.  A baby that she desperately wanted and had waited years to have.  A baby that she had carefully planned and sacrificed for, to include months of abstaining from alcohol and taking rounds of disgusting fertility medication to increase the likelihood of success.  A baby that she had chosen over her last relationship, because her ex-boyfriend wanted nothing to do with having children. His narcissistic ass barely had the maturity of a 10-year old anyway.  But this baby… This baby helped her to understand that no matter how much money, success or influence she had, it meant nothing if she didn’t have the family that she so long desired.  And since the ideal man never manifested, she courageously took matters into her own hands to create her loving family.  Besides, if past relationships proved anything, she was bound to be a better mother than a wife anyway.  So yes, everything in her life now centered around this baby, who had very quickly become her entire world.  And she was determined to fight whatever and whoever this was that had the audacity to bring a fight to her backyard and boldly threaten her future.

Mina calmly placed one foot in front of the other with a smoothness and ease that belied her raging emotions.  Following at a substantial distance behind the hostess, her gait was purposed and steady as she gained more and more momentum with each step she took.  Until she arrived at the waiting table, and once again, wanted to turn tail and run.

CHAPTER THREE

Luca’s eyes had locked in on her the moment that she entered the building. She appeared to stand almost a full foot taller than the petite hostess, but that was impossible. Until he saw her full frame and noticed that she wore high heels that elongated her length and made her legs look a mile long.  Her form-fitting, cream colored dress would have probably looked demure and refined on anyone else.  But on this woman, her voluptuous curves drew the eye straight to her perfectly formed cleavage and vampish hip-to-waist ratio.  Her coat did nothing to hide the potency that lived underneath it. At more than 50 feet away, she was already one of the sexiest women he had ever seen, and he hadn’t even allowed his eyes to travel to her face yet.  He was almost afraid to look, for he already knew what awaited him. The 8x10 glossies did little to accurately capture the body of this goddess… but they had captured her face precisely.  Her flawless golden skin, her soulful almond-shaped eyes tipped with elegantly long lashes and crowned by perfectly arched brows, her fantastically full lips and high cheekbones.  The beauty of this woman was beyond comprehension and if there ever existed a consummate posterchild for racial amalgamations, then it was certainly walking towards him now.

As Mina approached the table, her eyes were almost assaulted by the power of this man.  Even seated, he appeared larger than life as he easily commanded the air around him.  Likewise, his Italian heritage was without question. With sun-kissed skin and ink black hair that she immediately wanted to touch…no wait, where did that come from?  No, PULL…yes, ink black hair that she immediately wanted to pull (desperately)… because he was the enemy! As she got closer, she noticed that her enemy had a face that was entirely too brutish and masculine to be described as beautiful…yet that’s exactly what it was.  Shannon was right.  He was a beautiful masterpiece.  Even though his clothes were tailored to Italian perfection, he gave off the impression that his broad shoulders and torso were barely contained within his shirt and suit jacket.  Her eyes crawled up his golden neck, newly stubbled jawline, thick lips and arrogant nose to finally reach the grayish-blue eyes that almost made her stop walking mid-step, for the energy they exuded was deep, dangerous and threatening.  Mina suddenly felt warm, as if someone had turned up the restaurant thermostat and she was somehow standing directly underneath the vent.  And as he slowly began to stand, Mina took great pleasure in the possibility that she might at least look down on him, for in her heels, she stood at an easily imposing height of six feet-three inches tall.  Taller than most people she would pass on the street. And for a brief moment, she felt a small victory, because choosing to where such high heels was another weapon in her warfare artillery, increasing the likelihood of being physically intimidating to her opponent.  But as he continued to stand to his full height, he quickly surpassed her and almost made her crane her neck to meet his gaze.  Who..THE HELL… was this man!!!

 “Good evening Ms. Roberts. Glad that you were finally able to join us.” Luca waved his hand towards the seat directly across the table in front of him. “Please have a seat.” Thankfully he didn’t make a move to shake her hand, for she was prepared to embarrass any attempts to do so. 

She remained standing. “How do you know my name?”

Luca hardened his gaze and had to refrain from sneering. Without breaking eye contact, he slowly lowered himself back into his seat and in a calm and low baritone, almost whispered. “Oh Ms. Roberts, I know absolutely everything there is to know about you.”

Though momentarily shocked, Mina refused to back down or show any signs of vulnerability.  Truthfully she was rocked to the core, but he would never know it.

“Who are you?”

“Luca Saldano-Vera.”  He said his name as if the mere mention of it explained everything. Again, he motioned to a nearby chair. “Please, sit down.”

She remained standing.  “Mr. Vera, it is my understanding that you rented this entire restaurant for the sole purpose of this meeting, is that correct?”

Luca looked amused. She amused him.  “Actually, it’s Saldano-Vera.  And yes.. that is correct. Is there a problem with that arrangement?”

Mina gave a slight impish smile. “No. No problem at all.  I just find it interesting that you would go to such lengths to accommodate a 5-minute meeting, that’s all.”  And with that said, Mina reached inside of her designer handbag, grasped the manila envelope, and tossed it on the table mere inches from Luca’s unfinished steak.  “I simply need you to review and sign the document inside and then I’ll be on my way.”

Caught completely off guard by her boldness, Luca involuntarily laughed aloud. It was a hearty laugh that took even him by surprise, for it was rare that someone spoke to him so recklessly.  But his dismissive laughter ostensibly stoked the beast living inside of Mina.  Her face was livid and if she had a steak knife in her hand, he probably would have been castrated by now. 

Once he quieted down, he pushed his plate away and leaned in closer.  “Review and sign your documents, huh?  I tell you what.. If you agree to sit down and have a discussion with me, even if only for 5 minutes, then I will consider your request. Deal?”

Against every sane and logical thought in her head – thoughts that were telling her to leave the damn envelope on the table and walk away, thoughts that were telling her to get the hell away from this man as quickly as possible, thoughts that were telling her that she could not punch him right in the middle of his smug face, and thoughts that were telling her that he most certainly DID NOT smell like an angel of heaven – she relented and decided to consider his compromise anyway.

She walked closer to the waiting chair being held out for her by presumably one of his little underlings (even though the man was the exact same imposing height as her). Mina then slowly removed her lightweight cashmere coat, handed it to the underling, took her seat, and crossed her long legs at the knees.

“You have exactly 5 minutes Mr. Vera.”  She knew that continuing to mispronounce his name would annoy him, so she took pleasure in doing so.

Luca, on the other hand, heard next to nothing that she said. For when she removed her coat and sat down, all of the blood from his brain quickly rushed to another part of his body.  Against his will and of its own volition, his dick twitched and threatened to become a more active part of the conversation.

The first thing he noticed was that Mina’s eyes were gray.  They were dark gray.  The dossier file reported that her eyes were brown, but no. Her eyes were gray with small green flecks sprinkled throughout.  And for once, he was happy that he knew something that his investigative team did not. He knew something that only came from being in close proximity of this woman. He was almost certain that he would never forget this detail.   

Unfortunately, her close proximity also posed a problem.  For if he had trouble withstanding her magnetic pull from across the room, sitting three feet away from her would be his virtual undoing.  But he was trained for this. Compared to what he had already accomplished in his lifetime, this was nothing.  Childs play in fact. So he gathered his composure and gave the signal to Clove, who quickly stepped away, only to return within seconds toting a tiny wooden box.  After placing the box on the center of the table between Luca and Mina, he again disappeared.

“Ms. Roberts, I had sincerely hoped that we would use our time this evening to speak civilly to one another, commiserate about our shared misfortune in this fertility mix-up and who knows…maybe even get to know one another better.  But it’s clear to me that you probably won’t act reasonably and instead came to pick a fight, so with that being said...”

“ME pick a fight?!! ME?!! YOU’RE the one threatening a lawsuit for parental rights over my baby. MY baby, Mr. Vera!!  You decided to throw punches long before you ever met me!  Do you think that’s fair?!” Mina was now leaning over the table and freely setting fire to her composure. “Of COURSE not!! Nothing about this situation is fair!  But I’ll be damned if you think you’re going to use this as an opportunity to bully me into doing whatever you want!  In truth, I WOULD have responded reasonably if you hadn’t forced me to lawyer up, but you threw that gauntlet down first.  So you left me no choice.” 

Considering her words, Luca took another second to look into her eyes again. This time, he took slow inventory of her breathing, her body language...even the dilation of her pupils.  He immediately realized what everyone else had already suspected and quickly concluded. Mina Roberts was fighting mad, but she was not criminally-minded and probably had no connection to his enemies. Her passion was driven by that of pure protection and territorialism, nothing more.  He was on her turf, trying to take something that she rightfully believed belonged to her and she was prepared to fight for it.  There was unfortunately no greed in her eyes.  Greed, he could deal with. But passion.. that was a bit trickier. Therefore he was starting to doubt if whether or not his proposed plan would work.  The nagging thought in his mind was that maybe he didn’t want it to work.  That maybe he hoped she wouldn’t go along with it. But as quickly as those thoughts arrived, he banished them away.  Despite her innocence in this debacle, there was absolutely no way that things could go according to her wishes.  She had no idea what she was involved in and he had no choice but to proceed as planned and swiftly bring this matter to a close.  Focus Luca, focus.

“You are right Ms. Roberts. I fear that I have been a bit overly aggressive in my need to exert control over this situation.” Luca then leaned his elbows on the table and steepled his fingers near his chin. “Therefore it should come as no surprise to you that I intend to continue in that manner. You see, the sperm used for your insemination procedure was in fact stolen from my home in Rome several months ago.  It was never to be used in any fertility procedures and the mere fact that it presumably has been is already threatening to cause more international catastrophe than you could ever comprehend. Therefore, please understand that I sympathize with what I presume to be your innocence in this matter.  But given the circumstances, any jury – whether in this country or abroad - would agree that I have as much, if not more, parental rights to determine the future of that fetus. And to be clear, it is not full parental rights that I’m seeking.  The truth is that the sperm was stolen and should never have been used.  Therefore I am requesting immediate termination of this pregnancy.” 

With each word that Luca spoke, he saw Mina’s self-assurance slowly disintegrate. He was trained not to deviate from his mission, whatever the cost, so he continued.  Even as he mentioned the termination of pregnancy and saw the color change in her pallor and the water gather in her eyes, he continued on.

“Placed before you in this wooden box is a key to a very large safety deposit box at your local bank branch in Davidson, Maryland.” Luca slowly pushed the box across the table until it rested a few inches from the ledge closest to Mina.   “Currently inside of that safety deposit box is $5 million dollars in cash.”

Mina’s eyes were firmly fixed on Luca as she allowed a single tear to slowly crawl down her face. She felt the exhaustion from this battle threatening to make her delirious and she wasn’t even 24 hours in yet.  Luca saw that tear and almost became disturbed.  But this situation was bigger than him and he had no choice but to proceed.  With a voice that was lower and softer than before, he continued.

“Ms. Roberts, that money is yours if you agree to an immediate termination of this pregnancy.  No lawyers, no courtroom trials… nothing but this very discreet and mutual arrangement. And if you agree to these terms within the next 48 hours, there will be an additional $5 million dollars provided once the…once the process has been completed. I’ve secured the services of a private physician who will make the arrangements whenever you are most comfortable.”

Another tear fell as she gently placed her hands on the table in front of her.  Luca continued.

“And in a few weeks’ time, you will be able to start another round of treatments using the correct donor sperm that you initially chose, which I’m sure will result in another successful procedure. Inevitably, the end result will be the pregnancy that you desire.” 

One final tear fell as Mina slowly moved her fingers toward the wooden box placed before her.  Luca took note of her very slight movement and almost knew instinctively what she planned to do.  At that moment, he could have signaled a member of his security team, but he did not.  It was almost as if, deep down inside, he wanted to feel whatever physical pain she was capable of inflicting.  And from the look in her eyes, she was certainly planning to do something.  Whatever it was, he knew he deserved it.

Predictably, his security team was trained well and they too had honed-in on her body language. Two of them began making their way to his side, but neither made it in time to stop the wooden box from being hurled at Luca’s head with impressive force, nor his glass of red wine from being chucked in his face.  Luca was able to quickly catch the box before it made contact, but was not so lucky with the glass of wine.

“Fuck you! Put THAT in your gottdamn safety deposit box!”  Mina grabbed her coat and purse and stormed out of that restaurant with a fury that silenced everyone present.  She walked out of the door and was beyond thankful to see Monroe standing by the passenger door of the waiting SUV.  Both he and Layla insisted that he drive her to the meeting, just in case things went left and she needed a quick getaway.  And things could not have gone farther left than what just transpired. 

As soon as Monroe saw the look of terror on Mina’s face, he placed one hand inside his suit jacket to grasp the handle of the service weapon at his side (for he was also one of Layla’s licensed bodyguards and was never without his firearm) and quickly used the other hand to open the back passenger door.  Layla ran the few steps to the waiting vehicle and jumped inside as though fire was licking at her back.

Within seconds, Monroe had driven her half a mile down the street.

Within seconds, Luca had wiped his face clean of the red wine and realized that he had made a terrible and costly mistake.

Within seconds, Clove had phoned his liege at the U.S. Department of State.  “She’s probably going to make a run for it. Please place a marker on her passport and make arrangements to restrict any possible travel that she….”